Tributes from political allies and even one-time enemies came pouring in for Democratic U.S. Rep. Stephanie Tubbs Jones, a trailblazer whose energy and outspokenness made her one of Congress' most dynamic leaders.
Tubbs Jones, the first black woman to represent Ohio in Congress, died Wednesday evening after suffering a brain hemorrhage caused by a ruptured aneurysm. She was 58.
"She poured her heart and soul into her job," said U.S. Rep. Dennis Kucinich of Ohio. "She worked so hard and gave everything she could. I'm devastated. Wherever we'd go, we'd speak of each other as brother and sister. It's an incalculable loss."
Tubbs Jones represented Ohio's heavily Democratic 11th District for five terms. She was the first black woman to serve on the powerful House Ways and Means Committee and the first to serve as a common pleas judge in Ohio.
The congresswoman suffered the hemorrhage while driving her car in suburban Cleveland Heights on Tuesday night. She had been driving erratically and her vehicle crossed lanes of traffic before coming to a stop, police said. An officer found her.
Stephanie Tubbs Jones' life was filled with many "firsts": first African-American woman to serve as Common Pleas judge in Ohio, first to serve as Cuyahoga County prosecutor, first to represent Ohio in Congress.
Sept. 10, 1949: Born to Andrew Tubbs, a skycap at Cleveland Hopkins International Airport, and his wife, Mary, a factory worker.
1967: Graduated from Collinwood High School.
1971: Earned a bachelor's degree in social work from Case Western Reserve University.
1974: Earned a juris doctorate degree from Case Western Reserve University's law school. She went to work as counsel and equal opportunity administrator for the Northeast Ohio Regional Sewer District.
1976: Worked as an assistant county prosecutor in Cuyahoga County.
1979: Worked as a trial attorney for the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission.
1982: Served as Cleveland Municipal Court judge.
1983: Served as Cuyahoga County Common Pleas judge.
1990: Ran unsuccessfully for the Ohio Supreme Court.
1991: Appointed Cuyahoga County prosecutor after a vote of Cuyahoga County Democratic party precinct committee members, succeeding John T. Corrigan. Reelected in 1992 and 1996.
1998: Elected to Congress, succeeding U.S. Rep. Louis Stokes. She served on the House Ways and Means Committee and chaired the Ethics Committee.
2003: Her husband, Mervyn Sr., dies unexpectedly.
March 2008:She is nominated without opposition for her sixth term in Congress.
August 2008: Suffers a brain aneurysm while driving in Cleveland Heights.
